Source: Ars Technica

I’m not sure I quite agree with Nintendo’s decision on this one, but I suppose the decision wasn’t left up to me. They have decided not to put DVD or Blu-ray capabilities in the Nintendo Wii U. Their basis was that everyone already has something that people can play them with, which obviously is pretty biased and untrue.

Basically, they did this to avoid the patent licensing fees that they would need to pay in order to have these capabilities. Basically, this should also make the console cheaper, as long as Nintendo doesn’t make up excuses as to why it should be more expensive.

Source: Engadget

An analyst has claimed that after looking at the hardware specifications of the Nintendo Wii U, the console is 50% more powerful than the PlayStation 3. Honestly, it should be, seeing as how the new consoles are due anytime now and will only upgrade from where they stand already.

The modern PC is considered to be 10 times more powerful than the current console generation. That being said, a 50% processing power boost over the PlayStation 3 still isn’t enough to be truly advancing technology, but it is a step, nonetheless. Basically, this will just put Nintendo in with Sony and Microsoft, and not truly ahead, since they will no doubt be releasing their own console soon enough.

The real notice that should be taken from this is that the Nintendo Wii was not included in the better graphics and processing power of the current console generation. That being said, it is a huge leap for Nintendo, but just the normal step forward for console generations, as the gateway is still open for Microsoft and/or Sony to go even further.

Source: Ars Technica

Perhaps next time they would be so kind as to point out when they aren’t showing their own console. Hopefully the pictures and specifications that we have on the Wii U are actually from Nintendo.

Source: Engadget

Introducing the Nintendo Wii U, which will be available sometime in 2012. This is the next generation Wii, and it sure is packing a brand new twist with it. The controller, shown below, features a 6.2-inch touchscreen. That being said, if your dad is watching the big game or maybe your mom is watching The Bachelor, you can just use the given touchscreen to game on.

This controller features a microphone, gyroscope, dual analog controls, shoulder buttons and two triggers, a front-facing camera, a stylus, and a 6.2-inch touchscreen. Yes, you can voice and video chat even without a TV.

Satoru Iwata wanted everyone to know that this is not intended to be a portable gaming machine, even if there are some striking similarities. He instead wanted something that will support everyone’s needs, for sometimes you will use the touchscreen for something and the TV for another, in and outside the game. Finally, the Nintendo Wii U will also be compatible with all current generation accessories.

Source: Engadget

This new price will also come with a simple option: black or white. That’s right. You will have the choice to buy a white or black Nintendo Wii. Both options will even come with Mario Kart Wii and the steering wheel accessory in the color of your console.

Nintendo is also dropping the price of a number of games, creating a budget line of $20 games, called Nintendo Selects. “The four must-own games in this collection are The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess,Animal Crossing: City Folk, Mario Super Sluggers and Wii Sports, which is available for the first time as a separate software purchase,” Nintendo explained. “Parents and video game fans can now easily expand their library of fun, family-friendly Wii games.”

Source: Ars Technica

This is not a surprise: the game is first-party, a sequel to an already-popular franchise, comes in multiple flavors with different breeds of dogs, and it has been heavily promoted by Nintendo. This continues Nintendo’s trend of first-party games finding success on its own hardware.

According to Fox Business News, there have been 3.61 million 3DS devices sold as of the end of March. That sounds great, but Nintendo President Saturo Iwata described the sales as “weaker than expected.” His goal was to sell 4 million devices by that time. But not all is bad. Iwata also announced that 3D Excitebike will be given free for a limited time when the eShop goes live for the Nintendo 3DS. They have not specified when the eShop will be available, but it is under development.

Source: Ars Technica

There have been many rumors on the next console that Nintendo is releasing. First, it was said that it will make Playstation and Xbox look like a joke in terms of power. Next, it was decided that the new controllers will have a large touch-screen. While these were probably released in part by fanboys dreaming and drooling over their own versions of what they would like in the next console made by Nintendo, they won’t have to wait too long.

Nintendo Co., Ltd. has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii, which the company has sold 86.01 million units on a consolidated shipment basis between its launch in 2006 and the end of March 2011,” the company said in a statement. “We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles.

And while we don’t know what exactly this will look like or even be named, President of Nintedo Satoru Iwata said that 3-D is hard to make a key feature, so that will not be their primary focus. That is not to be confused with the elimination of 3-D, for he didn’t say it won’t have it, just that it will not be a “key feature.”

Source: Engadget

While the technology is great, Nintendo seems to not care so much about their own ideas. They don’t have instructions or a good system in place that allows you to share these images. It has been left up to third-party hosts and parties to instruct people on how to share these images, as well as give them a way. Sometimes it’s as “simple” as taking your SD card out and putting it in a computer with an SD card reader, but sometimes you need some other party to host the images.

I suppose some of Nintendo’s worries could have been over sexting with this new 3D technology, which I would rather not start to imagine or discuss. But something should be done to allow people to share 3D images, at least if they have exchanged friend codes already.

Hopefully the technology comes soon enough and leaves behind the people that only wish to abuse it for something as ridiculous as pornographic imagery. Nevertheless, this would take more cooperation by Nintendo to give the users what they want: the ability to share 3D images with their friends and the world.

Source: Ars Technica

Each person gets a 12-digit Friend Code, as shown in the photo. In previous Nintendo days, you had a different friend code for each game. At least Nintendo has smarted up and given each person a friend code based on their device (the 3DS).

But as I said, expectations were crushed. You can’t really do anything except “creep” on your friend who happens to be online. Without having the same game in the system, there is really no interaction that can be done between the two users.

Xbox Live is by far the most popular, and there are a number of reasons. You can interact with your friends via party chat even if you aren’t using the same game. You can view progress in different games, as well as quite a bit of other information. Xbox Live even offers nice comparisons between you and your friend.

So while the 3DS may be fun to play and enjoyable, the online interaction definitely failed to deliver. Hopefully Nintendo ups the ante with their next device, or perhaps even a series of updates with the already existing device.

Source: Ars Technica