Hey everyone
Everyone’s been asking me “What do you think of the new Wii 2 system?”
I’ve had a few day to go over all of the online details of the new Nintendo system and I wanted to share my feelings on it.
First off I’d like to cover the time line that Nintendo has set out for the next system. Many sources have stated that the next system (Which is called “Project Cafe”) will be out in the fall of 2012 but I just read an interview with the heads of Nintendo and it’s clear that they like to hold the details close to chest and because Nintendo has confirmed that they will be showing off the new system at E3 this year I’m starting to believe the system will be out sooner then 2012. The system itself is said to be stronger then both the XB360 and PS3 which is believable and both Microsoft and Sony have stated that their next systems will be out in 2014. This gives the Nintendo a two year head start on everyone else. I think that this is a great move. Do they really have a choice in the matter? I don’t think so. They’ve waiting a little to long as it is to upgrade their system to full HD.
The way I see the time line that is presented at the moment is that Nintendo has no choice but to release a system within a year and why not pull out all the stops? Not only does this system need to be in HD but it needs to have an amazing group of launch titles. Let’s forget about everything else and talk about the games for a second. Nintendo seems to want to take back the Hardcore market and the first thing that they need to do is step up with the biggest game launch they’ve ever had. Not only do they need to have a few hardcore titles like The Legend of Zelda in HD and Metroid Prime in HD but they to launch the this system with a new Call of Duty game and GTA 5. The good news is that Rockstar has just confirmed that they are in fact working on GTA5 for the Wii 2. This is what I like to hear. We can expect at least one amazing first party game to launch with the system but also have the next GTA game within the same time frame.
Let’s move on to online gaming. Not only has Nintendo sucked in the past with online modes but let’s face the facts that Nintendo has never really focused on building a social gaming network on any of their systems and I believe that it’s all about to change. They’ve had five years to do research on what the hardcore gamer wants out of their online systems. It’s simple to say that if Nintendo does not have an online system in place that is as good as PSN on launch day that it’s going to really hurt the sales of the system. The Wii 2 needs to do everything that the XB360 can do and more. A lot more. That’s why it’s important to build a strong head start this time around and I believe Nintendo is about to start the biggest war that we’ve ever seen in gaming since they faced off against Sega in the early 90′s,
So we’ve covered the fact that they need killer apps and the best online experience to date but will they deliver? I personally feel that they won’t let the Nintendo fans down. They will have two years to build a strong system and I feel that it does not matter how old the tech is within the system itself. It will come down to the games. Launch this system with new a Zelda, F-Zero, Metroid Prime, GTA, Call Of Duty and Mario game in HD and have all of them with online features and I’ll buy all of it. I’ve been waiting for a Zelda game in HD and think about a new F-Zero in HD! That would be epic all by itself but imagine playing it online with a headset.
The last thing I want to cover is the new controls. It seems that the next Nintendo system is not only going back to it’s roots but it’s also bringing a 6inch touch screen with it. Early rumors state that the new controllers will feature HD Touch screens about the same size as an Iphone 4 and that you’ll be able to stream the game to the controller at anytime during play. This rumor seems to be a little much if you think about the cost of such a controller. I feel that only a fraction of the details of this controller have been leaked at this time and I don’t know if I want to comment it on just yet. I do however have a good feeling about the idea of putting a touch screen into the controller as long as you don’t need to use the screen for that much game play because the truth be told, the iPhone 4 sucks for gaming unless it’s a simple puzzle game.
Overall I’m very excited about this system and I hope that Nintendo lives up to all it can be this time around. Let’s face the fact that Nintendo has a great idea with the Wii but no motion controller is going to save them for another seven years and I believe that they know that getting back a hardcore gamer is more important this time around and let’s not forget the fact that it will play Wii games meaning you’ll see true Wii 2 motion controller games in HD for the system but I believe that it will take a back sit in order to get the hardcore gamer to buy the system on launch day because my grandmother and little brother can’t be the only people in line on launch day for Nintendo to remain in first place and turn a profit.
Hopefully we will get answers at E3 and Nintendo will finally grow some balls and get into the hardcore battle.
Jason3KB
