Nintendo to Unveil Next-Gen Console at e3 2011 vol. Here we go

[ruxxx]

I meant "controller" and not "contoroller".

 

[Platinum State]

I dont see the use for having a 6" hd screen on the controller. Thats only gonna bring the price up. That controller will cost 100$ at least.......
Stupid move by Nintendo. They should stop trying to sell gimmicks and make a decent system with good 3rd party support for games

 

[Platinum State]

I dont see the use for having a 6" hd screen on the controller. Thats only gonna bring the price up. That controller will cost 100$ at least.......
Stupid move by Nintendo. They should stop trying to sell gimmicks and make a decent system with good 3rd party support for games

 

[whyhellothere]

@ the controller

 

[whyhellothere]

@ the controller

 

[king x riece]

[h1][/h1]

[h1]Wii 2: Predicting the Launch Titles[/h1][h2]What Nintendo's done with its past launches might suggest what it will do in the future with Project Cafe.[/h2][h2] April 29, 2011[/h2]

Weren't we just here a month ago? It's only been a handful of weeks since Nintendo's last big hardware launch, and the ink wasn't even dry on our 3DS purchase receipts before the company confirmed the next is on the way. Wii 2, Project Cafe, Stream - whatever you want to call it, it's on its way to store shelves next year. That's another major hardware launch, and that means Nintendo's assembling another launch lineup.

There's certainly still room for Nintendo to improve in this area, as many would-be purchasers of the Nintendo 3DS have pointed to its less-than-stellar launch selection as the reason they're still waiting to buy. So what lessons will the company learn from this past month?

And what about the 10 previous hardware launches before that? Nintendo's certainly got a wealth of history to draw on as it preps games to ship alongside its next console, so let's start digging into possibilities by examining the past. What follows are some of the most influential launch titles Nintendo's ever had, across all its many hardware launches. We'll highlight what each one brought to the table that was unique and necessary, and how the upcoming Wii 2/Cafe/Stream machine can take note.

Ice Climber

I'm lobbing you an oddball right out of the gate. Nintendo's original 8-bit Entertainment System had a diverse array of software accompany it to store shelves back in late 1985 and throughout 1986, as it rolled out availability across America. But rather than point to the obvious front-runner for consideration from that first console, I'm going to go with Ice Climber instead.

Ice Climber features two-player co-op. Other NES launch titles had two-player modes, but they were of the alternating type - one person played while the other person waited their turn. Ice Climber introduced simultaneous play, wherein both players got to be active on the same screen at the same time. It was ingenious, as it introduced a dynamic of cooperation as players helped each other scale snowy, pixilated peaks.

Or they tried to kill each other. Ice Climber also worked the other way, as instead of assisting your partner in climb you could instead race up the mountain by yourself, force-scroll the screen and cause them to instantly die. That either-way design, that kind of two-player mode that can be either cooperative or competitive at the same time, has since become a Nintendo staple. We've seen the same concept executed beautifully again and again in the years since, and recent releases like New Super Mario Bros. Wii have perfected it.

The streaming-to-handheld-screens aspect of Nintendo's next console seems most similar to games in the GameCube era like Four Swords Adventures that explored this same idea, so it's no stretch of the imagination to consider that Nintendo will once again offer a multiplayer cooperative/competitive design on Day 1. Another New Super Mario Bros. installment? A revival of Four Swords? Anything could happen.

Maybe even a four-player Ice Climber sequel.


Duck Hunt

Ice Climber was a pack-in title for the first European gamers who got into 8-bit Nintendo, but Americans are probably much more familiar with Duck Hunt. It was the flagship title highlighting the NES Zapper, the famous light gun that brought carnival-style shooting galleries into our living rooms for the first time. Beyond that, though, Duck Hunt also championed the greater concept of playing games with additional peripherals.

There's just something a little different and exciting about using something other than the standard, normal controller to interact with a game. And Nintendo has certainly milked that cow countless times over the years - Rumble Paks, microphones, the Balance Board. Even the Wii Remote was, at one time, just going to be another peripheral.

And now it actually will be. Nintendo's new machine won't have motion control front and center, but it will be backwards-compatible with Wii software - meaning that your Wii Remotes will become, essentially, Cafe peripherals. Nintendo may even release a new version of the Remote that matches Cafe's style to be able to play those old games. They brought us the Classic Controller for that purpose in this generation, you know.

What's more, if Nintendo's not entirely done with motion gaming and wants to help existing Wii owners transition into the next system more easily, it's possible that Cafe's Day 1 lineup would include some new piece of software that highlights that continuing feature. Would it be Duck Hunt? Not likely... But it could be in the spirit of Duck Hunt - a game offered for the sole purpose of championing a non-standard controller.


Pilotwings

You should be catching my angle by now. Nintendo's next system will have a successful launch lineup if its games accomplish the same goals that its best past launch titles did for their own systems. Multiplayer will be a priority, so a game that highlights that feature is needed. Transitioning Wii owners to the new hardware, where motion control will likely be relegated to peripheral status, will be important too - there should be a game that helps that happen.

And there should be a game that simply shows off what the new system can do, visually. Pilotwings could fit that bill. Nintendo's tapped this flight-sim series three different times in the past, each one of them a Day 1 launch game for the platform it appeared on - because they were filling this position. They were showcasing the power of the hardware.

The first Pilotwings shipped along the Super Nintendo, bringing that system's Mode 7 capability into the spotlight - it wasn't true 3D, but it looked like it was, and it was miles beyond what the 8-bit NES had been able to do. Pilotwings 64 came along as the next generation was introduced, and it brought true polygons into play - you could soar over real 3D fields.

Then, just last month, Pilotwings Resort did it again. It brought us 3D in the redefined stereoscopic sense of the term, adding depth and distance to the gameplay like never before. It's no wonder it's the game being used in 3DS demo stations. That's its job - to show what the system can do.

A fourth Pilotwings could do the same for Cafe/Stream, this time highlighting HD visuals. That's nothing new for PlayStation and Xbox fans, but it will be for the Nintendo faithful - so there will need to be at least one game that is focused on presenting a pure visual delight for the eyes. Pilotwings could do it. It's done it three times before.


Super Mario 64

OK, so I skipped over Super Mario Bros. I passed by Super Mario World, too. But I won't ignore the third Mario platformer that helped to launch a piece of Nintendo hardware, because Super Mario 64, in my opinion, was the most influential of them all.

Super Mario 64 laid down the foundation for what 3D games were going to be like from then on out, originating a control scheme and camera setup that made such adventures even possible. It truly changed the game. And, from the perspective we're pursuing in this article, its innovations made the appeal of the Nintendo 64 immediately apparent.

Mario platformers have always been showcase pieces in that way. They're graphical achievements, sure. But that's not their best quality, nor the position they fill in a launch lineup. Mario platformers are the gameplay showcase pieces for each system.

They're essential. Each generation's main Mario installment shows off its system's fun factor, and not having that on Day 1 did damage to both the GameCube and Wii. Had Sunshine and Galaxy made it out the door on time for those platforms, who knows how much extra momentum both would have.

Unfortunately, though, I'd wager the upcoming Cafe/Stream console won't get a Day 1 Mario either. That next game seems to be Super Mario 3DS, headed to our new portable this holiday season - and Nintendo probably won't turn around another 3D Mario fast enough to make the next console launch. This, again, could be a category that cripples.


Tetris

The addiction factor is undeniable. Tetris set off a frenzy in its American release as a pack-in title with the original Game Boy - absolutely everybody, and their mom, was playing it. It was a craze. A phenomenon.

Unfortunately, games like Tetris are incredibly rare and almost impossible to predict. It's like catching lightning in a bottle - if you pick exactly the right game to launch alongside your system, people will buy, buy, buy that system completely out of stock just for the chance to play that one game.

The closest Nintendo's come to recapturing that same fever has probably been Wii Sports, which we'll talk about next. But a better analog today would likely be Angry Birds or Minecraft - completely unexpected, out-of-nowhere games that have gone on to become wildly popular million-sellers in no time flat.

How could Nintendo catch that lightning for Cafe? Again, it's impossible to predict - the game that proves this point is unknown right now, being cobbled together by some hobbyist who has no idea that he or she is going to be a millionaire by this time next year. The best thing Nintendo could do, then, is to make their machines as attractive to these unknowns as possible - and stop saying things like "we don't want to work with garage developers."

Yeah, you do, Nintendo. Tetris was made by one guy and a couple buddies in Russia, fiddling around on their computers. They made you millions.


Wii Sports

The little freebie that just kept moving units, Wii Sports probably would have guaranteed a sell-through of Wii stock back in 2006 even without any other launch titles supporting it. It was the ultimate sales pitch for the system, as early Wii owners fell into one of two categories - either they bought the system first and used Wii Sports to demonstrate it to their friends, or else they were the friends who received the demonstration and then went out to get their own system.

Wii Sports represents the domino effect. It's related to the other influential games we've already listed in that it showcased the unique appeal of its platform and had a definite addiction factor to it, but it also took the next step too - it became the thing that people didn't want to just play once at a friends' house, they wanted to own it themselves.

Everybody heard statements like "I know someone who would love this," or "I've got to get one of these for my kids." Domino hitting domino hitting domino. It's no wonder Wii stayed sold out literally years after its debut. The ripples were still moving out from where the Day 1 adopters first dropped rocks in the water.

Once again, though, that kind of phenomenon is nearly impossible to predict ahead of time. The Cafe software that wants to achieve it will have to showcase the unique feature of the system - screen-streaming - in such a way as to make on-lookers leave the room opening the wallets and counting out their cash to see if they can afford one too.

And, of course, another Wii Sports wouldn't be a terrible idea either. Cafe won't be motion-focused any more, but a third installment in that franchise - or the related Wii Fit series - could catch the eye of current Wii owners.


The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

OK, this one's probably still a little touchy for some folks - Twilight Princess was never intended to be a launch title, it was supposed to be a swan song instead. But the late port of this project to place it on Wii on Day 1 turned out to be a smart move, as it gave Nintendo something the company had never had for any of its launch lineups - a true, lengthy, epic adventure.

Having a full, long single-player game to play right out of the gates is invaluable. Many Day 1 adopters, for any new piece of gaming hardware, are long-time, established video game fans. They've been there before. They've waited in those long lines, attended those midnight launches. And when they get home with that latest piece of tech, they want an experience to go with it that justifies the time, effort and money they've just invested.

Twilight Princess did that. It was a game you couldn't complete in just one afternoon of playing, and going through its entire campaign over the course of a week or two helped early Wii adopters integrate the new console into their regular gaming rotation.

We've already discussed the possibility of the upcoming Zelda: Skyward Sword making the same kind of move, but that same strategy doesn't really make much sense this time around. Having a game that offers a long single-player campaign, though, is important. You need that game that you settle in with for the long haul - you play around with the other stuff, you have fun with friends at a multiplayer party showing off your latest purchase, but when the friends go home, it's just you. And you want something epic to experience by yourself.

Nintendo could actually fill this position with a Wii port if they wanted too, if not Zelda. Why not take something like The Last Story, a game that looks like it might get totally passed over for our region as a Wii release, and move it to Cafe in America instead? The hardware descrepancy between regions isn't unprecedented, as Animal Crossing was a GameCube game for us while it lived on N64 back in Japan. And it could make more sense helping to launch new hardware on Day 1 than flaming out with a release on a dying system in Year 5.


Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition
Every game featured on this list so far has been a first-party title, but I'm singling out this one exception for its representation of a quality Nintendo can't bring to a launch lineup on its own - third-party support. Capcom stepped up and hit one out of the park this last month with its superb portable port of Super Street Fighter IV, solidifying the fact that any Nintendo system launch is better off if companies other than Nintendo are also checking in quality, worthwhile titles.

It hasn't happened often. Nintendo's secrecy about unreleased hardware keeps most third-party publishers out of the loop until a point where bringing games over in time to make the Day 1 lineup would be impractica. Thus many of Nintendo's launches have had nothing but Nintendo's own games to carry them. Worse, on occasions when third-party companies have managed to make their own projects available day-and-date with a new machine, they've frequently been rushed.

But there have been a few important gems. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon released alongside the Game Boy Advance back in the summer of 2001, and it kicked off a long-running series of great portable side-scrollers for that franchise. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II - Rogue Leader filled a huge gap for the GameCube's Day 1 roster later that same year, offering a game that was a great technical showpiece for that system.

And then we've had Capcom, just this last month, helping Nintendo to have at least one true AAA title on the shelves alongside the 3DS.

Happily, things are looking good on this front for Nintendo's next. Several third-party companies are already working on projects for Project Cafe, many of which could be contenders to launch alongside the system next year. That'll be a huge help, too, in recapturing the hardcore crowd - because everyone knows a Nintendo console will have great first-party games. Great third-party content is rare enough, though, that it would still be an unexpected surprise.


Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt

Try as they might, though, not every major project in development for the streaming Cafe Wii successor will be ready to roll right on time. Nintendo could conceivably explore again, then, a concept that helped launch the original DS - software demos.

Day 1 purchasers of first edition DS hardware found a copy of Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt in the box. The full Metroid Prime Hunters game was still a long way off from release, but First Hunt gave us a taste of what the work-in-progress would be like. It whet our appetites, offered a glimpse of the future, and, best of all, it was free.

That same territory seems to be being revisited soon, too, with Capcom's announcement of Mega Man Legends 3: Prototype Version for the 3DS. It's going to be a kind of glorified demo in the tradition of First Hunt, this time delivered digitally.

Nintendo could do well to offer some similar content on Cafe's Day 1. There will be a major Mario game coming at some point. Some future Zelda, years away. Some sort of Metroid, maybe not there at launch. But if the company offered just a playable level or two of each, it could help the system soar a lot sooner.

And, at worst, it would leave us Day 1 adopters with some more rare collector's items for being the first to buy.


Super Smash Bros. Melee

Rounding out our list of 10 selections is none other than Super Smash Bros. Melee. This GameCube great actually wasn't on sale day-and-date when the Cube debuted, but it followed the hardware to stores just two weeks later. So we're counting it. It's a launch (window) game.

Melee represents that final, most important quality that any Nintendo machine needs to be a success from the start - nostalgia. The Smash Bros. series brings all of Nintendo's many different worlds and characters together in one great big battle. Beyond being fun fighters and excellent multiplayer choices, they encapsulate better than any other game the sheer force of built-up memories and childhood longings that form the backbone of the Nintendo fandom.

And, even better, a new Smash Bros. at Project Cafe's launch might not be too far-fetched of an idea.

Brawl will be over four years old by the time Cafe goes on sale, which is plenty of time for Nintendo to turn around a sequel. And Masahiro Sakurai, who helmed that most recent Smash sequel, will be finished with Kid Icarus: Uprising soon and needing something new to do. If he and Project Sora jump on Smash Bros. 4 as soon as Icarus goes gold, and build off the foundation already in place from Melee and Brawl, we could very well see Super Smash Bros... Scuffle or Fracas or Donnybrook in 2012.



Let's recap. Nintendo's launched a lot of systems. Cafe's coming up. And Nintendo can have a successful launch of it if the company looks to its past and achieves the same goals that its 10 most influential launch titles of yesteryear brought to the table.

A near-perfect launch meet those goals. It would have a multiplayer title that could be played either cooperatively or competitively. It would have a peripheral-highlighting game that shines a spotlight on any non-standard controllers, if there are any. It would have a game that blows us away visually, and another that brings us gameplay innovation we never could have had on any previous system.

The best launch would also somehow catch lightning in a bottle by featuring an addictive hit game that no one saw coming. It would have the domino effect in place, wherein everyone who played it at a friends' house left feeling like they needed to buy one for their own home.

It would have a unique Mario platformer. And an epic, lengthy adventure game. And great third-party support, demos to show us what's on the horizon and maybe even the very next Smash Bros. to bring that nostalgic Nintendo quality into the mix.

It's a tall order. But each goal has been met before, and Nintendo's got enough of a headstart this time around that each one could very well be met again. (And one game could address more than one of these qualities, too. We'd accept any nostalgic, visually incredible, multiplayer Mario platformers, for instance.)

But it's all a guessing game for now. We'll learn more about Cafe/Stream/Wii 2 in just a few short weeks. Perhaps we'll find out what games are coming at launch? Until then, why not check in with your own thoughts? Has this list of necessary qualities been on the money, or have I missed needed components? What about the games I chose as the 10 most influential -- spot-on, or flawed? Use the Comments box below to let us know, then stay tuned. This discussion is only just getting started.

 

[king x riece]

[h1][/h1]

[h1]Wii 2: Predicting the Launch Titles[/h1][h2]What Nintendo's done with its past launches might suggest what it will do in the future with Project Cafe.[/h2][h2] April 29, 2011[/h2]

Weren't we just here a month ago? It's only been a handful of weeks since Nintendo's last big hardware launch, and the ink wasn't even dry on our 3DS purchase receipts before the company confirmed the next is on the way. Wii 2, Project Cafe, Stream - whatever you want to call it, it's on its way to store shelves next year. That's another major hardware launch, and that means Nintendo's assembling another launch lineup.

There's certainly still room for Nintendo to improve in this area, as many would-be purchasers of the Nintendo 3DS have pointed to its less-than-stellar launch selection as the reason they're still waiting to buy. So what lessons will the company learn from this past month?

And what about the 10 previous hardware launches before that? Nintendo's certainly got a wealth of history to draw on as it preps games to ship alongside its next console, so let's start digging into possibilities by examining the past. What follows are some of the most influential launch titles Nintendo's ever had, across all its many hardware launches. We'll highlight what each one brought to the table that was unique and necessary, and how the upcoming Wii 2/Cafe/Stream machine can take note.

Ice Climber

I'm lobbing you an oddball right out of the gate. Nintendo's original 8-bit Entertainment System had a diverse array of software accompany it to store shelves back in late 1985 and throughout 1986, as it rolled out availability across America. But rather than point to the obvious front-runner for consideration from that first console, I'm going to go with Ice Climber instead.

Ice Climber features two-player co-op. Other NES launch titles had two-player modes, but they were of the alternating type - one person played while the other person waited their turn. Ice Climber introduced simultaneous play, wherein both players got to be active on the same screen at the same time. It was ingenious, as it introduced a dynamic of cooperation as players helped each other scale snowy, pixilated peaks.

Or they tried to kill each other. Ice Climber also worked the other way, as instead of assisting your partner in climb you could instead race up the mountain by yourself, force-scroll the screen and cause them to instantly die. That either-way design, that kind of two-player mode that can be either cooperative or competitive at the same time, has since become a Nintendo staple. We've seen the same concept executed beautifully again and again in the years since, and recent releases like New Super Mario Bros. Wii have perfected it.

The streaming-to-handheld-screens aspect of Nintendo's next console seems most similar to games in the GameCube era like Four Swords Adventures that explored this same idea, so it's no stretch of the imagination to consider that Nintendo will once again offer a multiplayer cooperative/competitive design on Day 1. Another New Super Mario Bros. installment? A revival of Four Swords? Anything could happen.

Maybe even a four-player Ice Climber sequel.


Duck Hunt

Ice Climber was a pack-in title for the first European gamers who got into 8-bit Nintendo, but Americans are probably much more familiar with Duck Hunt. It was the flagship title highlighting the NES Zapper, the famous light gun that brought carnival-style shooting galleries into our living rooms for the first time. Beyond that, though, Duck Hunt also championed the greater concept of playing games with additional peripherals.

There's just something a little different and exciting about using something other than the standard, normal controller to interact with a game. And Nintendo has certainly milked that cow countless times over the years - Rumble Paks, microphones, the Balance Board. Even the Wii Remote was, at one time, just going to be another peripheral.

And now it actually will be. Nintendo's new machine won't have motion control front and center, but it will be backwards-compatible with Wii software - meaning that your Wii Remotes will become, essentially, Cafe peripherals. Nintendo may even release a new version of the Remote that matches Cafe's style to be able to play those old games. They brought us the Classic Controller for that purpose in this generation, you know.

What's more, if Nintendo's not entirely done with motion gaming and wants to help existing Wii owners transition into the next system more easily, it's possible that Cafe's Day 1 lineup would include some new piece of software that highlights that continuing feature. Would it be Duck Hunt? Not likely... But it could be in the spirit of Duck Hunt - a game offered for the sole purpose of championing a non-standard controller.


Pilotwings

You should be catching my angle by now. Nintendo's next system will have a successful launch lineup if its games accomplish the same goals that its best past launch titles did for their own systems. Multiplayer will be a priority, so a game that highlights that feature is needed. Transitioning Wii owners to the new hardware, where motion control will likely be relegated to peripheral status, will be important too - there should be a game that helps that happen.

And there should be a game that simply shows off what the new system can do, visually. Pilotwings could fit that bill. Nintendo's tapped this flight-sim series three different times in the past, each one of them a Day 1 launch game for the platform it appeared on - because they were filling this position. They were showcasing the power of the hardware.

The first Pilotwings shipped along the Super Nintendo, bringing that system's Mode 7 capability into the spotlight - it wasn't true 3D, but it looked like it was, and it was miles beyond what the 8-bit NES had been able to do. Pilotwings 64 came along as the next generation was introduced, and it brought true polygons into play - you could soar over real 3D fields.

Then, just last month, Pilotwings Resort did it again. It brought us 3D in the redefined stereoscopic sense of the term, adding depth and distance to the gameplay like never before. It's no wonder it's the game being used in 3DS demo stations. That's its job - to show what the system can do.

A fourth Pilotwings could do the same for Cafe/Stream, this time highlighting HD visuals. That's nothing new for PlayStation and Xbox fans, but it will be for the Nintendo faithful - so there will need to be at least one game that is focused on presenting a pure visual delight for the eyes. Pilotwings could do it. It's done it three times before.


Super Mario 64

OK, so I skipped over Super Mario Bros. I passed by Super Mario World, too. But I won't ignore the third Mario platformer that helped to launch a piece of Nintendo hardware, because Super Mario 64, in my opinion, was the most influential of them all.

Super Mario 64 laid down the foundation for what 3D games were going to be like from then on out, originating a control scheme and camera setup that made such adventures even possible. It truly changed the game. And, from the perspective we're pursuing in this article, its innovations made the appeal of the Nintendo 64 immediately apparent.

Mario platformers have always been showcase pieces in that way. They're graphical achievements, sure. But that's not their best quality, nor the position they fill in a launch lineup. Mario platformers are the gameplay showcase pieces for each system.

They're essential. Each generation's main Mario installment shows off its system's fun factor, and not having that on Day 1 did damage to both the GameCube and Wii. Had Sunshine and Galaxy made it out the door on time for those platforms, who knows how much extra momentum both would have.

Unfortunately, though, I'd wager the upcoming Cafe/Stream console won't get a Day 1 Mario either. That next game seems to be Super Mario 3DS, headed to our new portable this holiday season - and Nintendo probably won't turn around another 3D Mario fast enough to make the next console launch. This, again, could be a category that cripples.


Tetris

The addiction factor is undeniable. Tetris set off a frenzy in its American release as a pack-in title with the original Game Boy - absolutely everybody, and their mom, was playing it. It was a craze. A phenomenon.

Unfortunately, games like Tetris are incredibly rare and almost impossible to predict. It's like catching lightning in a bottle - if you pick exactly the right game to launch alongside your system, people will buy, buy, buy that system completely out of stock just for the chance to play that one game.

The closest Nintendo's come to recapturing that same fever has probably been Wii Sports, which we'll talk about next. But a better analog today would likely be Angry Birds or Minecraft - completely unexpected, out-of-nowhere games that have gone on to become wildly popular million-sellers in no time flat.

How could Nintendo catch that lightning for Cafe? Again, it's impossible to predict - the game that proves this point is unknown right now, being cobbled together by some hobbyist who has no idea that he or she is going to be a millionaire by this time next year. The best thing Nintendo could do, then, is to make their machines as attractive to these unknowns as possible - and stop saying things like "we don't want to work with garage developers."

Yeah, you do, Nintendo. Tetris was made by one guy and a couple buddies in Russia, fiddling around on their computers. They made you millions.


Wii Sports

The little freebie that just kept moving units, Wii Sports probably would have guaranteed a sell-through of Wii stock back in 2006 even without any other launch titles supporting it. It was the ultimate sales pitch for the system, as early Wii owners fell into one of two categories - either they bought the system first and used Wii Sports to demonstrate it to their friends, or else they were the friends who received the demonstration and then went out to get their own system.

Wii Sports represents the domino effect. It's related to the other influential games we've already listed in that it showcased the unique appeal of its platform and had a definite addiction factor to it, but it also took the next step too - it became the thing that people didn't want to just play once at a friends' house, they wanted to own it themselves.

Everybody heard statements like "I know someone who would love this," or "I've got to get one of these for my kids." Domino hitting domino hitting domino. It's no wonder Wii stayed sold out literally years after its debut. The ripples were still moving out from where the Day 1 adopters first dropped rocks in the water.

Once again, though, that kind of phenomenon is nearly impossible to predict ahead of time. The Cafe software that wants to achieve it will have to showcase the unique feature of the system - screen-streaming - in such a way as to make on-lookers leave the room opening the wallets and counting out their cash to see if they can afford one too.

And, of course, another Wii Sports wouldn't be a terrible idea either. Cafe won't be motion-focused any more, but a third installment in that franchise - or the related Wii Fit series - could catch the eye of current Wii owners.


The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

OK, this one's probably still a little touchy for some folks - Twilight Princess was never intended to be a launch title, it was supposed to be a swan song instead. But the late port of this project to place it on Wii on Day 1 turned out to be a smart move, as it gave Nintendo something the company had never had for any of its launch lineups - a true, lengthy, epic adventure.

Having a full, long single-player game to play right out of the gates is invaluable. Many Day 1 adopters, for any new piece of gaming hardware, are long-time, established video game fans. They've been there before. They've waited in those long lines, attended those midnight launches. And when they get home with that latest piece of tech, they want an experience to go with it that justifies the time, effort and money they've just invested.

Twilight Princess did that. It was a game you couldn't complete in just one afternoon of playing, and going through its entire campaign over the course of a week or two helped early Wii adopters integrate the new console into their regular gaming rotation.

We've already discussed the possibility of the upcoming Zelda: Skyward Sword making the same kind of move, but that same strategy doesn't really make much sense this time around. Having a game that offers a long single-player campaign, though, is important. You need that game that you settle in with for the long haul - you play around with the other stuff, you have fun with friends at a multiplayer party showing off your latest purchase, but when the friends go home, it's just you. And you want something epic to experience by yourself.

Nintendo could actually fill this position with a Wii port if they wanted too, if not Zelda. Why not take something like The Last Story, a game that looks like it might get totally passed over for our region as a Wii release, and move it to Cafe in America instead? The hardware descrepancy between regions isn't unprecedented, as Animal Crossing was a GameCube game for us while it lived on N64 back in Japan. And it could make more sense helping to launch new hardware on Day 1 than flaming out with a release on a dying system in Year 5.


Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition
Every game featured on this list so far has been a first-party title, but I'm singling out this one exception for its representation of a quality Nintendo can't bring to a launch lineup on its own - third-party support. Capcom stepped up and hit one out of the park this last month with its superb portable port of Super Street Fighter IV, solidifying the fact that any Nintendo system launch is better off if companies other than Nintendo are also checking in quality, worthwhile titles.

It hasn't happened often. Nintendo's secrecy about unreleased hardware keeps most third-party publishers out of the loop until a point where bringing games over in time to make the Day 1 lineup would be impractica. Thus many of Nintendo's launches have had nothing but Nintendo's own games to carry them. Worse, on occasions when third-party companies have managed to make their own projects available day-and-date with a new machine, they've frequently been rushed.

But there have been a few important gems. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon released alongside the Game Boy Advance back in the summer of 2001, and it kicked off a long-running series of great portable side-scrollers for that franchise. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II - Rogue Leader filled a huge gap for the GameCube's Day 1 roster later that same year, offering a game that was a great technical showpiece for that system.

And then we've had Capcom, just this last month, helping Nintendo to have at least one true AAA title on the shelves alongside the 3DS.

Happily, things are looking good on this front for Nintendo's next. Several third-party companies are already working on projects for Project Cafe, many of which could be contenders to launch alongside the system next year. That'll be a huge help, too, in recapturing the hardcore crowd - because everyone knows a Nintendo console will have great first-party games. Great third-party content is rare enough, though, that it would still be an unexpected surprise.


Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt

Try as they might, though, not every major project in development for the streaming Cafe Wii successor will be ready to roll right on time. Nintendo could conceivably explore again, then, a concept that helped launch the original DS - software demos.

Day 1 purchasers of first edition DS hardware found a copy of Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt in the box. The full Metroid Prime Hunters game was still a long way off from release, but First Hunt gave us a taste of what the work-in-progress would be like. It whet our appetites, offered a glimpse of the future, and, best of all, it was free.

That same territory seems to be being revisited soon, too, with Capcom's announcement of Mega Man Legends 3: Prototype Version for the 3DS. It's going to be a kind of glorified demo in the tradition of First Hunt, this time delivered digitally.

Nintendo could do well to offer some similar content on Cafe's Day 1. There will be a major Mario game coming at some point. Some future Zelda, years away. Some sort of Metroid, maybe not there at launch. But if the company offered just a playable level or two of each, it could help the system soar a lot sooner.

And, at worst, it would leave us Day 1 adopters with some more rare collector's items for being the first to buy.


Super Smash Bros. Melee

Rounding out our list of 10 selections is none other than Super Smash Bros. Melee. This GameCube great actually wasn't on sale day-and-date when the Cube debuted, but it followed the hardware to stores just two weeks later. So we're counting it. It's a launch (window) game.

Melee represents that final, most important quality that any Nintendo machine needs to be a success from the start - nostalgia. The Smash Bros. series brings all of Nintendo's many different worlds and characters together in one great big battle. Beyond being fun fighters and excellent multiplayer choices, they encapsulate better than any other game the sheer force of built-up memories and childhood longings that form the backbone of the Nintendo fandom.

And, even better, a new Smash Bros. at Project Cafe's launch might not be too far-fetched of an idea.

Brawl will be over four years old by the time Cafe goes on sale, which is plenty of time for Nintendo to turn around a sequel. And Masahiro Sakurai, who helmed that most recent Smash sequel, will be finished with Kid Icarus: Uprising soon and needing something new to do. If he and Project Sora jump on Smash Bros. 4 as soon as Icarus goes gold, and build off the foundation already in place from Melee and Brawl, we could very well see Super Smash Bros... Scuffle or Fracas or Donnybrook in 2012.



Let's recap. Nintendo's launched a lot of systems. Cafe's coming up. And Nintendo can have a successful launch of it if the company looks to its past and achieves the same goals that its 10 most influential launch titles of yesteryear brought to the table.

A near-perfect launch meet those goals. It would have a multiplayer title that could be played either cooperatively or competitively. It would have a peripheral-highlighting game that shines a spotlight on any non-standard controllers, if there are any. It would have a game that blows us away visually, and another that brings us gameplay innovation we never could have had on any previous system.

The best launch would also somehow catch lightning in a bottle by featuring an addictive hit game that no one saw coming. It would have the domino effect in place, wherein everyone who played it at a friends' house left feeling like they needed to buy one for their own home.

It would have a unique Mario platformer. And an epic, lengthy adventure game. And great third-party support, demos to show us what's on the horizon and maybe even the very next Smash Bros. to bring that nostalgic Nintendo quality into the mix.

It's a tall order. But each goal has been met before, and Nintendo's got enough of a headstart this time around that each one could very well be met again. (And one game could address more than one of these qualities, too. We'd accept any nostalgic, visually incredible, multiplayer Mario platformers, for instance.)

But it's all a guessing game for now. We'll learn more about Cafe/Stream/Wii 2 in just a few short weeks. Perhaps we'll find out what games are coming at launch? Until then, why not check in with your own thoughts? Has this list of necessary qualities been on the money, or have I missed needed components? What about the games I chose as the 10 most influential -- spot-on, or flawed? Use the Comments box below to let us know, then stay tuned. This discussion is only just getting started.

 

[king x riece]

[h4][/h4]

[h4]Wii U has last-gen Radeon inside, still more advanced than PS3 and Xbox 360[/h4]
By Terrence O'Brien posted Jun 14th 2011 12:24PM


Slowly, but surely, we're starting to piece together what's going on inside that mysterious white box known as the Wii U. IBM was a little coy about the multi-core CPU it was providing, but did tantalize us by mentioning the name "Watson" in describing some of its underlying tech. Now details about the custom Radeon GPU are starting to surface and, while certainly capable, it's not exactly cutting edge. At its heart is a chip similar to the R770 found in AMD's last-gen cards like the 4890 and, before you dismiss it, remember the PS3 and Xbox 360 are still capable of pumping out impressive visuals while packing five-year-old silicon (The 360 is essentially running a souped up ATI X1900). The custom core also supports Direct X 10.1 (Microsoft runs out of steam with Direct X 9) and Eyefinity-like multi-display tech for up to four SD video streams -- though it'll be up to Nintendo and developers to put that to good use. In case you're still not convinced of the Wii U's graphical prowess, Crytek has said its advanced CryEngine is "pretty much" up and running on Nintendo's upcoming console -- and, if it's good enough for Crysis, it should be good enough for you.

 

[king x riece]

[h4][/h4]

[h4]Wii U has last-gen Radeon inside, still more advanced than PS3 and Xbox 360[/h4]
By Terrence O'Brien posted Jun 14th 2011 12:24PM


Slowly, but surely, we're starting to piece together what's going on inside that mysterious white box known as the Wii U. IBM was a little coy about the multi-core CPU it was providing, but did tantalize us by mentioning the name "Watson" in describing some of its underlying tech. Now details about the custom Radeon GPU are starting to surface and, while certainly capable, it's not exactly cutting edge. At its heart is a chip similar to the R770 found in AMD's last-gen cards like the 4890 and, before you dismiss it, remember the PS3 and Xbox 360 are still capable of pumping out impressive visuals while packing five-year-old silicon (The 360 is essentially running a souped up ATI X1900). The custom core also supports Direct X 10.1 (Microsoft runs out of steam with Direct X 9) and Eyefinity-like multi-display tech for up to four SD video streams -- though it'll be up to Nintendo and developers to put that to good use. In case you're still not convinced of the Wii U's graphical prowess, Crytek has said its advanced CryEngine is "pretty much" up and running on Nintendo's upcoming console -- and, if it's good enough for Crysis, it should be good enough for you.

 

[skrimsauce]

Dooooope.

 

[skrimsauce]

Dooooope.